sbagirl
8-4-15, 12:24pm
You may remember that I posted several months ago seeking advice for my first overseas trip. Well, I’m back and I had a marvelous time. In case you're interested, here's a brief recap.
I got to London the morning of July 16, found my way to my hotel near Heathrow and, since my room was ready and available at 10:30 a.m., I settled in. I thought about finding my way into central London at that point but decided I was too tired, so I took a walk around the neighborhood, took a short nap, and then found a nearby pub for dinner, where I ran into several other people who were there for the same event.
The next morning, I got up, found my way into London on the Tube (thanks to the journey planner on the Travel for London website) and joined the Free Tours Royal Walking Tour starting at Parliament Square which I had spotted in a brochure. The guide, who was very funny and informative, kept us going for about 2.5 hours, ending just off Trafalgar Square. After that, I found my way to the London Eye for my 3:30 ride (and I’m so glad I bought my ticket in advance – the lines were horrible), then went to Westminster Abbey for the 5:00 Evensong service, and so I could see something of the inside without paying £20 admission.
The next morning, I took the Tube back in and went to the Piccadilly area, just roamed around and admired the old buildings and looked in some interesting shops before heading back to the to sign in for the event, get bus assignments, instructions, etc.
On the morning of July 19, our tour started with a visit to Paultons Park and Stonehenge, and the following days took us to Oakwood Theme Park, Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Flamingo Land, Joyland, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, Pleasurewood Hills, Drayton Manor, Legoland Windsor, Chessington World of Adventures, Dreamland, Adventure Island, and ended at Thorpe Park on July 29 and I went home on July 30. In case you lost track, that was 14 amusement parks and Stonehenge in 11 days. Yes, I’m crazy, but so were the other 170 attendees!
The best money I spent on this trip was paying the extra cost to have a single room (my DH wasn’t on the trip and I wasn’t taking a chance on a random roommate). As an introvert, I desperately needed that break from people at the end of the day.
I got to spend time with some old friends, got to know some acquaintances a little better, and made some new friends. Overall, things went very well and I am so glad I went.
I got to London the morning of July 16, found my way to my hotel near Heathrow and, since my room was ready and available at 10:30 a.m., I settled in. I thought about finding my way into central London at that point but decided I was too tired, so I took a walk around the neighborhood, took a short nap, and then found a nearby pub for dinner, where I ran into several other people who were there for the same event.
The next morning, I got up, found my way into London on the Tube (thanks to the journey planner on the Travel for London website) and joined the Free Tours Royal Walking Tour starting at Parliament Square which I had spotted in a brochure. The guide, who was very funny and informative, kept us going for about 2.5 hours, ending just off Trafalgar Square. After that, I found my way to the London Eye for my 3:30 ride (and I’m so glad I bought my ticket in advance – the lines were horrible), then went to Westminster Abbey for the 5:00 Evensong service, and so I could see something of the inside without paying £20 admission.
The next morning, I took the Tube back in and went to the Piccadilly area, just roamed around and admired the old buildings and looked in some interesting shops before heading back to the to sign in for the event, get bus assignments, instructions, etc.
On the morning of July 19, our tour started with a visit to Paultons Park and Stonehenge, and the following days took us to Oakwood Theme Park, Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Flamingo Land, Joyland, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, Pleasurewood Hills, Drayton Manor, Legoland Windsor, Chessington World of Adventures, Dreamland, Adventure Island, and ended at Thorpe Park on July 29 and I went home on July 30. In case you lost track, that was 14 amusement parks and Stonehenge in 11 days. Yes, I’m crazy, but so were the other 170 attendees!
The best money I spent on this trip was paying the extra cost to have a single room (my DH wasn’t on the trip and I wasn’t taking a chance on a random roommate). As an introvert, I desperately needed that break from people at the end of the day.
I got to spend time with some old friends, got to know some acquaintances a little better, and made some new friends. Overall, things went very well and I am so glad I went.